Corporate giants including Coca-cola, McDonalds and Pepsico have joined together to create a platform aimed at inspiring green living.
The site named Collectively.org has been developed by 24 leading global brands including Marks & Spencers, BT, Facebook and Google with the goal of motivating millenials to make sustainable living the norm.
Partners involved in the project wanted to veer sharply away from the traditional scare mongering tactics associated with issues around the environment. Instead of the usual negative reinforcement strategies, Collectively celebrates the innovations occurring in fashion, food, design and technology to encourage 18 – 30’s to want to be a part of the sustainability movement.
The platform is a collaborative project with Vice Media, Purpose and NGO run Forum For the Future in a bid to provide content which is relevant and engaging to a younger audience. The site claims that current media coverage has stirred feelings of disillusionment with the younger public. Collectively say: “We’re trying something that we hope will get people’s attention and more importantly get them to take action.”
The Great Technology Race: China
Facebook and Google have entered a new phase of the tech race in the pursuit to provide free internet to the globes poorest regions through solar powered drones. Testing for the technology is already underway for both brands though there are numerous additional contenders.
Questions still remain about the viability of this project in terms of political relations and permission to fly in national airspace. Most importantly, how will the drones be fueled to run for 24 hour period?
Just another marketing ploy?
The site, launched on 7th October 2014, has been designed to exclude any branding of the companies involved in the quest to reassure visitors who might be skeptical about their intensions to participate. It comes in the same week Lego abandoned the renewal of a marketing partnership with Shell following a viral video campaign from Greenpeace.
The pressure on high profile unsustainable corporations is on the increase as protest groups become more sophisticated in their campaign strategies. A Spokesperson from the Eco Experts said: “Any initiative which seeks to inspire sustainable living is brilliant and we hope it makes a genuine impact. However, there will always be the underlying fear that Collectively is just another PR stunt for the multi-nationals to appear environmentally friendly.
The reality remains that it is only through large marketing campaigns like this that companies like Coco-Cola and Pepsi can sustain the clean image they crave.”
